All are good advice. I ran a 32" Metro for the past several years and at times I would run into the same thing. The easiest and best thing to do is to invest in an electric impact gun or if you already have an air compressor get a pneumatic.

If neither of these are an option eat your Wheeties and get a socket, breaker bar and a large locking pliers.

Raise the front of the mower up and set it on a set of jack stands, lock the parking brake and block the rear tires. Clamp the pliers to the rear baffle so that when you try to remove the bolt or nut the pliers acts as a blade stop. This will usually allow you to gain enough leverage to "break" the bolt or nut loose. The place another wrench on the other end of the bolt and remove it. There are other ways but the best way is to invest in an electric or pneumatic impact gun.

Also when you put the blades back on, tighter is better. If you don't get them tight they will "self tighten" if you hit something or in thick lush spring grass.

If you have any other questions or you would like me to elaborate call me at 800-667-5296.

I just registered on LawnSite to ask the same question that eball has. I cannot get the blades loose from my 2001 36" Metro.

One thing I don't see mentioned here or in the Operator's Manual is the size of the bolt. It seems to be too large for my 7/8" and too small for 15/16"... too large for 22mm and too small for 23mm... I'm afraid to put too much torque on it for fear of rounding off the bolt head. What size is it??

The correct wrench is a 15/16". Be certain to use the box end and not the open end or use a socket and a breaker bar. I believe the blade bolts are a grade 8 so if you have the wrench on the head of the bolt properly it should handle as much torque as you can dish out.

The best thing to do is use an impact if this becomes too much of a problem.

Thanks, Terry. The 15/16" seemed to be the closest fit, but my wrench just didn't feel snug enough to really crank it. I'll pick up a good deep-well socket and a breaker bar and try that.

By the way, I'm a homeowner like eball, and I love my Metro. There are now two Metro 36's living in my little neighborhood of 32 homes. They are priced competitively with a lawn tractor, will go places I'd not dare take a LT (I have a steeply sloped lot) and will (I expect) last years longer.

I have a Metro 48 fixed deck, and also had trouble getting the blades off, and didn't want to invest in an impact wrench (no need other than the mower).

I've removed the blades probably four or five times now (install mulch kit, and height adjustments).

It took two guys. One on the top bolt, and one on the bottom one. We still coudn't do this by hand.

Here's what worked: Top bolt guy (15/16 box end wrench) holds top firm in place. Bottom guy (15/16 socket wrench) hammers on the wrench with a dead blow hammer until loose. Takes about ten wacks to get it loose enough. Be sure you're going the right way to loosen (use top bolt to determine the direction - counter clockwise)

Note: The bolts do "self tighten" under normal mowing conditions (I'm just a homeowner also), and will be just as difficult to remove the second, third, fourth... as the first.

It's really pritty simple once you get the hang of it. I adjust height in the spring and fall, so I do this twice a year. My father-in-law and I can remove all three (and replace) in about 10 to 15 minutes.

I have Turf Tracers, not a Metro but is there not a flat spot on the spindle for a 1" wrench? We used to struggle with the blades and I finally went and bought a 1" box wrench to hold the spindle while removing the 15/16" bolt and it works great now. I also make a point of putting some kind of removable lock-tite on the bolt everytime to.